Everyone wants to know if we can stop or slow the ageing process. Research to date has not found a way to slow the anatomical deterioration that is happening over our lifespans and ageing is inevitable. But here is my visualisation of other factors that affect ageing. The conveyor belt of ageing.
From the time we are born we are on the conveyor belt of ageing. In the beginning, we wish it would go faster, especially during our teenage years, but as we hit our mid-to-late twenties we want things to slow down and by forty we want to back-track a bit. Unfortunately, this conveyor belt is only headed in one direction.
There are only two ways to change what happens on this journey; we can change the speed at which we travel, or be temporarily lifted up off the conveyor belt. This suspension is more than just a pause button. When you are placed back down you are effectively placed earlier on in the ageing process, while your peers have continued down the ageing journey.
It is hard to effect change on the speed, but having a consistently healthy lifestyle and wearing SPF daily can help slow it down, whilst smoking and too much sun will speed the process up.
Every time you invest in yourself, whether it be a facial treatment/product, diet or workout, it can lift you up off the conveyor belt for a time. How long you are suspended will depend on how effective it is in the anti-ageing process. But with repeated effort and consistent changes, we can effect a bigger change in the long run.
Treatments that promote collagen production like micro-needling and skin boosters as well as some devices) will be more beneficial than a simple facial. Other treatments like anti-wrinkle treatments are seen as preventative and will have a bigger impact on the progression along the conveyor belt, especially with repeated treatments. For instance, if you have two ladies in their 60s. One started with anti-wrinkle treatments in their 40s and the other started in their 60s. The first lady is likely to have fewer wrinkles and likely to be finer lines whereas the other has deeper lines that can only be softened at this stage. Anti-wrinkle treatments may not eradicate lines but soften them and slow their progression, especially if only started later in life.
Even choosing to take HRT when you become menopausal can help you lose less collagen and bone and help maintain good health.
It’s never too late to make a change and slow things down. We cannot reverse it; ageing is inevitable, but how gracefully we age is in your hands. Coco Chanel said “Nature gave you the face you have at 20. It’s up to you to merit the face you have at 50.”
Treatments like chemical peels, skin boosters and anti-wrinkle injections as well as adding retinol to your skincare routine and consistently making healthy choices can make a big difference in the long run. The healthy lifestyle choices are being kind to your skin, exercising and keeping active, minding your diet, keeping your mood elevated, lowering stress, quitting smoking, decreasing alcohol consumption, getting enough sleep, finding new hobbies and drinking plenty of water. You know all those obvious things we want to be better at in life but still, find hard. Keep trying.
Ask me, Dr Roxi at Fountain of Youth an Aesthetics and Skincare Clinic in Salisbury, how you can effect change on your conveyor belt. I believe in a slow and steady approach focusing on the skin first, to give you natural results that help you age gracefully.